Oblo Puzzle Sphere Takes Thinking To The Third Dimension

The Oblo Puzzle Sphere is a three-dimensional way to teach kids about hand-eye coordination, motor skills and an appreciation for this crazy multi-dimensional world we live in.

Every once in a while a product comes along that we're endlessly intrigued by, and the Oblo is it so far this year. At first glance, the Oblo seems quite simple - a sphere with green, blue, yellow and red layers that can be taken apart and examined at a child's leisure. Of course, once removed, the challenge is to put the sphere back together, and that's where the fun starts. Unlike a standard 2d puzzle, not only fitting the pieces together but doing so in the right order - planning for the space they are going to occupy - becomes paramount, and that takes the Oblo Puzzle Sphere to a whole new level.

The Oblo is the creation of Marco Pavlovic, a Croatian-born designer who has since won the IDEA award from the Industrial Designers Society of America for the Oblo and someone who obviously knows how the agile minds of young kids work.

This is one of those "it looks easy but ain't" type of toys, much like the well-loved Rubik's Cube. Even adults are challenged to not only put the pieces of the Oblo back together, because not only must the inner layers match up, but must fit through the opening afforded by the one piece of removable green outer layer.

The Oblo is one of those great toy designs that we all wish would be ore common - simple in concept, difficult to execute properly and all-around fun. Buy it at: Amazon

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